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"A compelling, gory, ghostly romp."
—Paul Tremblay, New York Times bestselling author of Horror Movie
"This is what it felt like to live in New York City during lockdown: haunted, absurd, terrifying, ridiculous, and full of hungry ghosts."
—Grady Hendrix, New York Times bestselling author of How to Sell a Haunted House
In this explosive horror novel, a woman is haunted by inner trauma, hungry ghosts, and a serial killer as she confronts the brutal violence experienced by East Asians during the pandemic.
Cora Zeng is a crime scene cleaner, washing away the remains of brutal murders and suicides in Chinatown. But none of that seems so terrible when she’s already witnessed the most horrific thing possible: her sister, Delilah, being pushed in front of a train.
Before fleeing the scene, the murderer shouted two words: bat eater.
So the bloody messes don’t really bother Cora—she’s more bothered by the germs on the subway railing, the bare hands of a stranger, the hidden viruses in every corner, and the bite marks on her coffee table. Of course, ever since Delilah was killed in front of her, Cora can’t be sure what's real and what’s in her head.
She pushes away all feelings and ignores the advice of her aunt to prepare for the Hungry Ghost Festival, when the gates of hell open. But she can't ignore the dread in her stomach as she keeps finding bat carcasses at crime scenes, or the scary fact that all her recent cleanups have been the bodies of East Asian women.
As Cora will soon learn, you can’t just ignore hungry ghosts.
For fans of Stephen Graham Jones and Gretchen Felker-Martin, Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is a wildly original, darkly humorous, and subversive contemporary novel from a striking new voice in horror.
Genre: Horror
—Paul Tremblay, New York Times bestselling author of Horror Movie
"This is what it felt like to live in New York City during lockdown: haunted, absurd, terrifying, ridiculous, and full of hungry ghosts."
—Grady Hendrix, New York Times bestselling author of How to Sell a Haunted House
In this explosive horror novel, a woman is haunted by inner trauma, hungry ghosts, and a serial killer as she confronts the brutal violence experienced by East Asians during the pandemic.
Cora Zeng is a crime scene cleaner, washing away the remains of brutal murders and suicides in Chinatown. But none of that seems so terrible when she’s already witnessed the most horrific thing possible: her sister, Delilah, being pushed in front of a train.
Before fleeing the scene, the murderer shouted two words: bat eater.
So the bloody messes don’t really bother Cora—she’s more bothered by the germs on the subway railing, the bare hands of a stranger, the hidden viruses in every corner, and the bite marks on her coffee table. Of course, ever since Delilah was killed in front of her, Cora can’t be sure what's real and what’s in her head.
She pushes away all feelings and ignores the advice of her aunt to prepare for the Hungry Ghost Festival, when the gates of hell open. But she can't ignore the dread in her stomach as she keeps finding bat carcasses at crime scenes, or the scary fact that all her recent cleanups have been the bodies of East Asian women.
As Cora will soon learn, you can’t just ignore hungry ghosts.
For fans of Stephen Graham Jones and Gretchen Felker-Martin, Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is a wildly original, darkly humorous, and subversive contemporary novel from a striking new voice in horror.
Genre: Horror
Praise for this book
"Viscerally haunting. Bat Eater & Other Names for Cora Zeng is a profound reminder of the true horrors that lurk in the world, the ones that cannot be dispelled by turning on a light or flipping the page." - Tori Bovalino
"Stylish, propulsive, occasionally shocking, and fueled by a great big beating heart for its characters, Kylie Lee Baker's Bat Eater is a ghost story that exists in its own glorious phylum." - Nick Cutter
"This is what it felt like to live in New York City during lockdown: haunted, absurd, terrifying, ridiculous, and full of hungry ghosts. This book shook me in all the best ways." - Grady Hendrix
"Bat Eater is a poignant, searing portrait of the hostility and violence that plagued pandemic-era NYC. This story of hungry ghosts demanding redemption is in a word...magnificent." - Veronica G Henry
"Bat Eater and Other Names For Cora Zeng possessed me from the first page and haunted me for long after the last. The visceral emotionality of Baker's writing and the specificity of New York through the Asian American experience makes for a powerful exploration of loneliness, community, and belonging in the face of hatred. Singular in every way, this book dug its claws into me and would not let go." - Ling Ling Huang
"Unless you are Asian, you cannot know the terror and anger we felt during covid times - but Bat Eater will get you pretty close. Body horror and female rage fiction combine in a powerful novel that will leave you quaking. There has never been a hungry ghost like the one in Bat Eater." - Alma Katsu
"There's a lovely touch of humor intricately woven throughout this otherwise brutal, tense, and daring story. I found myself totally enraptured with these characters, horrified at times and unable to pry my eyes away from the page. For some, there's such delight in the thrill of terror. If that's true for you, Kylie Lee Baker's exceptional book will carve a permanent grin into the face of even the most discriminating horror critic. Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng has everything I look for in a compelling horror novel - strangeness, sensitivity, and empathy. This is easily one of the most exciting and unique books I've read in years." - Eric LaRocca
"WOW. Just wow. I am completely obsessed with this book. Bat Eater is a serial killer mystery and a heartbreaking portrayal of grief and a brutal depiction of a Chinese woman's experience during COVID and a genuinely terrifying ghost story, all at once. I loved every single page." - Kirsty Logan
"I smashed through Bat Eater - shocking, visceral and haunted by more than ghosts: trauma, rage, grief, racism, crime scene clean-ups and COVID paranoia. Bat Eater will swoop in like a bat out of hell, swallow you whole and leave no crumbs." - Alice Slater
"Bat Eater is a compelling, gory, ghostly romp, and it's a righteous battle cry aimed into the racist heart of the pandemic hellscape. You won't be able to stop turning pages while rooting for Cora." - Paul Tremblay
"Stylish, propulsive, occasionally shocking, and fueled by a great big beating heart for its characters, Kylie Lee Baker's Bat Eater is a ghost story that exists in its own glorious phylum." - Nick Cutter
"This is what it felt like to live in New York City during lockdown: haunted, absurd, terrifying, ridiculous, and full of hungry ghosts. This book shook me in all the best ways." - Grady Hendrix
"Bat Eater is a poignant, searing portrait of the hostility and violence that plagued pandemic-era NYC. This story of hungry ghosts demanding redemption is in a word...magnificent." - Veronica G Henry
"Bat Eater and Other Names For Cora Zeng possessed me from the first page and haunted me for long after the last. The visceral emotionality of Baker's writing and the specificity of New York through the Asian American experience makes for a powerful exploration of loneliness, community, and belonging in the face of hatred. Singular in every way, this book dug its claws into me and would not let go." - Ling Ling Huang
"Unless you are Asian, you cannot know the terror and anger we felt during covid times - but Bat Eater will get you pretty close. Body horror and female rage fiction combine in a powerful novel that will leave you quaking. There has never been a hungry ghost like the one in Bat Eater." - Alma Katsu
"There's a lovely touch of humor intricately woven throughout this otherwise brutal, tense, and daring story. I found myself totally enraptured with these characters, horrified at times and unable to pry my eyes away from the page. For some, there's such delight in the thrill of terror. If that's true for you, Kylie Lee Baker's exceptional book will carve a permanent grin into the face of even the most discriminating horror critic. Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng has everything I look for in a compelling horror novel - strangeness, sensitivity, and empathy. This is easily one of the most exciting and unique books I've read in years." - Eric LaRocca
"WOW. Just wow. I am completely obsessed with this book. Bat Eater is a serial killer mystery and a heartbreaking portrayal of grief and a brutal depiction of a Chinese woman's experience during COVID and a genuinely terrifying ghost story, all at once. I loved every single page." - Kirsty Logan
"I smashed through Bat Eater - shocking, visceral and haunted by more than ghosts: trauma, rage, grief, racism, crime scene clean-ups and COVID paranoia. Bat Eater will swoop in like a bat out of hell, swallow you whole and leave no crumbs." - Alice Slater
"Bat Eater is a compelling, gory, ghostly romp, and it's a righteous battle cry aimed into the racist heart of the pandemic hellscape. You won't be able to stop turning pages while rooting for Cora." - Paul Tremblay
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